Category: Nutrition

Joint pain can be caused by many different things, from arthritis to bursitis to injury. Even certain diseases like mumps, hepatitis, and the flu can cause troubling joint pain. And with six different types of moveable joints in your body, you’ve got a lot of potential pain points. Whatever the cause or the location, the result greatly impacts your ability to perform throughout the day.

OTC or even prescription medications can help to relieve joint pain, but they come with troubling side effects and can interact with other medications you may take. It’s always best to start with the least invasive method of pain management first and work your way up to the harder stuff if necessary. Luckily, there are several natural herbs that can effectively block joint pain without causing unwanted side effects.

Following are five of the most commonly available herbs that can soothe painful joints. But first, we take a look at the bodily process that actually causes joint pain. (Hint: it points to our bodies’ tendency to take protective actions too far.) Stick with us to the end and you’ll be well-armed with natural analgesics, both topical and oral, that can straight-up improve your quality of life. Many of these may already be hanging out in your pantry.

The Driver of Joint Pain: Inflammation

Inflammation is a complex process that can be both harmful and helpful. It is the body’s response to infection or injury and attempts to isolate the damaged part of the body from other healthy areas. That response is critical to fighting off foreign invaders. Inflammation is a key component of healing – think of the inflammation you experience after exercise. The result is that your muscles rebuild stronger than ever.

However, chronic inflammation is associated with almost every disease known to man. When left unchecked, inflammation causes more problems than it solves, including crippling joint pain. That’s why popular OTC medications, notably ibuprofen, do more for inflammation than for the pain itself. The following herbs are known to reduce inflammation and swelling, thereby relieving suffering.

Beets are nutritious and flavorful, versatile enough to be eaten on their own or as a tasty addition to salads, juices, or dips. If you don’t care for the flavor – beets do have a distinct earthy quality – there are also ways to disguise the taste yet still enjoy the benefits. And as we’ll explain, there are many reasons to make beets a daily habit.

First of all, beetroot (the red bulb underneath the green shoot and leaves) has a ton of vitamins and minerals yet few calories. It is particularly high in folate and manganese, but also contains a good amount of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and iron. There is about 1.7 grams of protein in each 3.5 ounce serving, as well as 2 grams of fiber, all for just 44 calories.

But the nutrition is just the beginning. We’ve examined what can happen to your body if you make the choice to eat some beets every day, and it’s really exciting. From disease prevention to weight loss, there is no shortage of compelling reasons to try.

We think you’ll find #2 especially interesting.

Onions have been popular for a really long time. As far back as the Egyptians of 2500 B.C., we can see evidence that the onion was worshipped. It was said to represent eternity due to its construction of concentric layers. We can’t promise that eating onion will give you an eternity, but it surely can improve the quality of your life.

Onions are highly nutritious, featuring good amounts of protein and fiber as well as vitamin C, selenium, folate, and various antioxidants. Even the tear-inducing sulfuric compounds in onions, notably allicin, deliver health benefits such as reducing your risk of cancer. Eating some onion every day can really do a body good.

Today, onions are one of the most versatile ingredients around, and they appear in tons of savory recipes. You might not even know they are there in many cases, but we can guarantee there is some amount of onion in the majority of the foods you eat, even if it is just the onion powder in your favorite spice blend.

So before you think, “I just don’t like onions,” and scroll by, know that there are tons of ways to get onion into your diet, and just as many reasons why you really should. Some of these, especially #5, are truly incredible.

Celery is often thought of as the quintessential diet food, flavorless and stringy but so low in calories as to guarantee you’ll shed pounds. And in truth, celery is really good for weight loss. But it offers much more than that. Celery is so good for you that after you read this article, you’ll want to both eat it and slather it on your skin!

You may think that there is so much water and fiber in celery that it couldn’t contain much else, but in reality celery is an excellent source of several important vitamins and minerals. For starters, it is particularly high in vitamin K and molybdenum.

Present in lesser but still significant amounts are folate, potassium, manganese, and pantothenic acid. When you eat celery, you’ll also net vitamins A, B2, B6, and C, copper, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Ready to find out what all that goodness can do for you? Read on and prepare to be surprised. Some of these benefits, especially #6 and #7, may just change the way you think about caring for your body.